The Vampire Diaries (TV series)
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural–fantasy horror/drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith. The series follows the life of 17-year old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with a centuries old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and quite possibly may develop feelings for his brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), also a vampire. The series also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The series is a mix of teen drama and the supernatural. When The Vampire Diaries premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, it attracted the largest audience of any series since the network began in 2006. Due to strong ratings, the series was given a full, 22-episode first season on October 21, 2009. The show's first season finale aired on May 13, 2010. On February 16, 2010, The CW announced a renewal for a second season of the show that began airing on September 9, 2010. Main Cast and Characters * Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce (Katerina Petrova) * Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore * Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore * Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert * Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett * Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes * Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers (Season 1-2) * Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood * Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan * Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman (Season 1; Recurring episodes 9-13, main episodes 14-present) * Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan (Season 1; episodes 1-7, guest season 2, guest season 3 ) * Joseph Morgan as Klaus (Season 2; episodes 19-22, Season 3- present) Production Initially Kevin Williamson had little interest in developing the series, finding the premise too similar to other vampire tales. However, at Julie Plec's urging, he began to read the novels and started to become intrigued by the story: "I began to realize that it was a story about a small town, about that town's underbelly and about what lurks under the surface." Williamson has stated the town's story will be the main focus of the series, rather than high school. On February 6, 2009, Variety announced that The CW had greenlit the pilot for The Vampire Diaries with Williamson and Julie Plec set as the head writers and executive producers. On May 19, 2009, the series was officially ordered for the 2009–2010 season. Filming Locations The pilot episode was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the rest of the episodes have been filmed in Covington, Georgia (which doubles as the fictional small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia) and various other communities around Greater Atlanta, to take advantage of local tax incentives. Critical Reception Metacritic gave the show a score of 50/100 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average response. Its premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.9 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. The first season had an average rating of 3.66 million viewers. Notes * During Season One it was paired with Supernatural, during Season Two with Nikita, and during Season Three it was paired with it's sister show The Secret Circle, ''which was cancelled after one season. During Season Four it will be paired with a new supernatural show, ''Beauty and the Beast. Awards Teen Choice Awards People's Choice Awards Saturn Awards See Also * The Vampire Diaries (novels) * Season One * Season Two * Season Three Videos Category:The Vampire Diaries television series